Beyond Idenity
Moving From Form To Substance
I love what Carl Jung says,
“Acceptance of oneself is the essence of the moral problem and the acid test of one’s whole outlook on life.
That I feed the beggar, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ—all these are undoubtedly great virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren, that I do unto Christ.
But what if I should discover that the least amongst them all, the poorest of all beggars, the most impudent of all offenders, yea the very fiend himself—that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness, that I myself am the enemy who must be loved—what then?" - ~ Carl Jung
What I learned from Buddhist and Zen Formation
I’m with the Buddhist, and take it one step further. When they meditate among the rotting bodies, they realize they are capable of every evil, even taking the last food out of a starving baby’s mouth.
I know myself. I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell because I know that I’m capable of every evil that’s ever been committed. I know what I’m capable of. So I die to myself every day, that I might be raised as Christ through me. Every mystic has come to this point, for as many times and as long as it takes. That’s where we are embraced by God at our deepest level, there at the crucifixion of our ego.
I Am A New Creation
For me, I identify as dead to myself and alive in Christ, and I revisit this first thing every morning. I don’t worry about do’s and don’t’s. I cut the tree off at its roots. I’m incapable of always doing good, as I am capable of every evil.
St. Francis's practice was to meditate with a skull in his hands. Life is short, and every moment counts.
The Peace of Christ, the Love of God, and the Joy of the Holy Spirit are the immutable creating energies of God that we get to practice and embody. It is not a gift. We get to grow the fruit of the Holy Spirit as we die to ourselves, becoming a new creation in Christ. It’s not a once-and-done deal, but living an abundant life, being a creator in the hands of God, is totally worth it. The peace of Christ grounds us in the eternal. I’m not speaking positionally. I’m speaking experientially.
Centering Prayer is a good practice to begin embodying the peace that surpasses understanding.
Learning your Ennegrahm energy type: gut, heart, or head, can help with this, too. There’s no one process, no right or wrong way to do this. You don’t have to wait till you physically die to live a resurrected life in Christ. You just need to die to your ego. It’s why we’re baptized. What’s left is to embody our Baptism. We don’t need a stigmata like St. Francis, but the ego’s gotta die. Every new cancer has caused me to die deeper and more fully. The death of my wife and the death of my youngest son have caused me to die more fully to my ego. It still sticks up its ugly head. This is also why there isn’t one mystic way. You have to tailor your own transformation. It’s a spiritual journey like the peeling of an onion rather than a destination.
Morning Devotions ~ A Daily Practice
"Be willing to be a beginner every single morning."
~Meister Eckhart
Every morning, and a thousand times a day if need be, we get to start all over again...brand new as a Beginner, we begin again.
Breathe deep, stir, and awaken into the heart of the sunrise. Feeling the Spirit coursing light through your veins. Breathe deep the breath of heaven as your eyes and your heart throw open the windows of heaven into this radical quickening grace, this fire of love.
Come out into the dawn of life, dancing and creating with your Creator. Be like the artist or the muse dancing in the fields of grace, where we're restoring the very synapses of our heart and being, tuning ourselves, spirit, soul, and body with the dance of eternal life.
We stir as the birds sing, and the earth awakens around us, walking with our bare feet grounded into the living earth while our presence is poised toward heaven sparkling from the souls of our feet…Fully Alive
Now, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent
everything becomes clear and undisguised.
Make the smallest distinction, however,
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
If you wish to see the truth
then hold no opinions for or against anything.
To set up what you like against what you dislike
is the disease of the mind.
When the deep meaning of things is not understood
the mind's essential peace is disturbed to no avail.
The Way is perfect like vast space
where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject
that we do not see the true nature of things.
Live neither in the entanglements of outer things,
nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
Be serene in the oneness of things
and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.
When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity
your very effort fills you with activity.
As long as you remain in one extreme or the other,
you will never know Oneness.
Those who do not live in the single Way
fail in both activity and passivity,
assertion and denial.
To deny the reality of things is to miss their reality;
to assert the emptiness of things
is to miss their reality.
The more you talk and think about it,
the further astray you wander from the truth.
Stop talking and thinking
and there is nothing you will not be able to know.
Recognizing the ego is a constant, to notice, and to allow the Christ in you to be is a constant.